Feed chute for underground cable laying plow

ABSTRACT

Structure incorporated into, attached to or otherwise associated with a cable laying plow to define a chute or guide for feeding a cable or cables, conduit, pipe or the like downwardly and in a curved manner for discharging the same in trailing relation to the plow. A wing used in combination with the chute or independently of the chute to provide the capability of installation of a ground wire or wires simultaneously with installation of the cable, conduit, pipe or the like by the chute or installation of the ground wire or wires where cable, conduit, pipe or the like has already been previously installed.

United States Patent DAndrea [111 3,802,210 1 1 Apr. 9, 1974 FEED CHUTEFOR UNDERGROUND CABLE LAYING PLOW 1,863,671 6/1932 Pitts et a1 6l/72.6

Primary Examiner-Jacob Shapiro Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Clarence A.OBrien; Harvey B. Jacobson [5 7] v ABSTRACT Structure incorporated into,attached to or otherwise associated with a cable laying plow to define achute or guide for feeding a cable or cables, conduit, pipe or the likedownwardly and in a curved manner for discharging the same in trailingrelation to the plow. A wing used in combination with the chute orindependently of the chute to provide the capability of installation ofa ground wire or wires simultaneously with installation of the cable,conduit, pipe or the like by the chute or installation of the groundwire or wires where cable, conduit, pipe or the like has already beenpreviously installed.

9 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures sum 2 of 2 FEED CHUTE FOR UNDERGROUND CABLELAYING PLOW BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention Thepresent invention generally relates to an apparatus for installingunderground cable, conduit, pipe or the like which includes a cablelaying plow provided with a feed chute connected in trailing relationthereto for feeding a cable, conduit, pipe or the like downwardly in asmoothly curved manner for positioning in the underground bed or areaformed by the plow in which the plow itself forms no particular part ofthe invention except in its association with the feed chute. Thisinvention also relates to a wing for installing ground wires eithersimultaneously with the cable, conduit, pipe or the like orindependently thereof to enable the ground wires to be installed afterthe cable, conduit, pipe or the like is in place.

2. Description of the Prior Art Cable laying plows for positioning acable or pipe below ground have been developed and are used in manyinstallations rather than previously known trenching systems in which atrench was formed, the cable or cables laid and the trench backfilled.Subsequent to development of such plows, van'ous improvements andmodifications have been made regarding the manner in which the plows areconnected with towing vehicles in order for the plows to be effectivelytowed. Examples of such arrangements are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.3,032,903; 3,500,564 and 3,526,980. These patents also disclose, but notin detail, the plow structure including a vertically disposed blade orcoulter and a mole at the lower end thereof. While such previously knowndevices have been utilized, some difficulties have been encountered inlaying certain types and arrangements of cables, conduits and the likewith the plow.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is toprovide a feed chute for cable laying plows mounted articulately to therear edge portion of the plow and including vertically extending guidemeans provided at the smoothly curved rearwardly extending lower portionthat terminates at the rear lower edge portion of the chute.

A further object of the invention is to provide a feed chute in whichthe guide set forth in the preceding paragraph also includes an upwardlyextending and smoothly curved upper end portion swivelly connected withthe chute to enable the orientation of the upper portion of the guide tobevaried so that cables may be fed from a trailer or other support intrailing relation to the chute or from any other position in relation tothe chute.

Another very important object of the invention is to provide a feedchute in accordance with the preceding objects in which a horizontallydisposed wing is attached to the chute and includes tubular guidemembers associated therewith for guiding wires downwardly to a positionunderground horizontally spaced from each other and vertically spacedfrom the cable being fed down through the guide on the feed chutethereby enabling a plurality of cables endwise to be laid undergroundduring one pass of the underground cable laying plow with the multiplecables being vertically spaced, horizontally spaced or otherwisearranged in a desired relationship to each other.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational viewillustrating schematically the orientation of the feed chute of thepresent invention associated with a cable laying plow and a trailercarrying a supply spool of cable to be laid.

FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view, taken substantially I upon referenceplane 22 of FIG. 1 illustrating the orientation of the feed chute inrelation to the ground when laying cables.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the construction of FIG. 2illustrating further structural details of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view similar to FIG. 2 but illustratingthe position of the main cable and wires after they have been laid.

FIG. 5 is a plan view, on an enlarged scale of the lower portion of thefeed chute illustrating the structural details thereof.

FIG. 6 is a vertical, sectional view taken substantially upon a planepassing along section line 6-6 of FIG. 5 illustrating further structuraldetails of the guide for the main cable and the guides for the wires.

FIG. 7 is a vertical, sectional view taken substantially upon a planepassing along section line 77 of FIG. 6 illustrating further structuraldetails of the feed chute.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now specifically tothe drawings, the feed chute of the present invention is generallydesignated by reference numeral 10 and is illustrated inassociation withan underground cable laying plow 14 which is associated with a towingvehicle 16 in a well known manner and connected thereto by a supportingand connecting mechanism generally designated by the numeral 18 with theplow l4, vehicle 16 and supporting and'connecting mechanism 18 generallyconforming with previously known structure such as disclosed in thepreviously mentioned prior patents with this construction forming noparticular part of the invention except for the association of the plow14 with the feed chute 10. Also connected with the-plow and supportingand connecting mechanism is a trailer generally designated by thenumeral 20 which is of conventional construction and may be providedwith ground engaging support wheels 22 and a reel or spool 24 of cable26 to be laid in underground position. It is pointed out that thetrailer is only representative of the manner in which the cable spoolmay be supported or the cable may be supplied by various means. Inaddition, pipes, conduits or other similar devices may be positionedunderground by using the cable laying plow 14 which forms a slit in theground 28 rather than forming a wide trench as is necessary inconventional trench installation methods when positioning undergroundcable.

The feed chute 10 includes a vertically oriented housing or casing 30which is relatively narrow in a transverse direction but relativelyelongated vertically and in a fore-and-aft direction. The housingincludes a front wall 32 and spaced parallel side walls 34 rigid withthe front wall 32, a partial top wall 36 and a partial rear wall 38interconnecting the side walls 34 thus providing an open rear portion 40and an open bottom portion 42.

For attaching the feed chute to the plow 14, the lower end of the frontplate or wall 32 is provided with a forwardly projecting lug 44 at thebottom thereof and a forwardly projecting lug 46 spaced above the lug 44with the lug 46 being connected with side brackets 48 extending alongthe outer surface of the side plates 34 and being connected thereto by athrough bolt 50 that extends through arcuate slots 52 in the bracketplates 48. The lug 46 includes two vertically spaced ears 54 aperturedfor receiving a vertically oriented pin 56 and the lug 48 is providedwith a horizontal opening receiving a horizontal pin 58 whichconstruction provides for a limited degree of relative movement betweenthe feed chute l0 and the plow 14 with the pins 56 and 58 connecting thefeed chute with the plow 14 so that it moves in trailing relationthereto.

The portion of the feed chute above the top plate 36 which is in theform of a double thickness plate is provided with an upward extension 60which may be square or rectangular in cross-sectional configuration andforms a continuation of the front portion of the housing or casing 30 asillustrated in FIG. 6. Mounted vertically in the extension 60 is atubular guide 62 that may be rigidly affixed to the rear surface of theextension 60 as by welding 64 or the like. The tubular guide 62 extendsdownwardly and curves smoothly towards the rear as indicated at 66 andterminates in a discharge end 68 generally at the juncture between thebottom edge 42 and the rear of the housing 30 thereby providing asmoothly curved and rearwardly extending guide.

Attached to the upper end of the tubular guide 62 is an upwardlyextending tubular member 70 having a smoothly curved configuration andterminating in an outwardly flared, funnel-shaped entrance end 72 forreceiving the cable 26. The tubular guide 70 is swivelly attached to thetubular guide 62 so that the angular orientation of the tubular guide 70may be oriented to enable the guide funnel 72 to be disposed forwardly,rearwardly or to any angular position desired to facilitate guiding ofthe cable into the tubular guide. FIG. 6 illustrates the swivelconstruction and includes a flange 74 on the upper end of the tubularguide 60 and a corresponding flange 76 on the tubular guide 70 with theflanges 74 and 76 being in abutting engagement with each other. Theflange 76 is larger than the flange 74 and includes a depending edgeportion 78 which encircles the circumference of the flange 74. Attachedto the edge portion 78 of the flange 76 is a retaining plate 80 securedin place by removable bolts 82 to enable disassembly of the device withthe plate 80 serving to rotatably connect the flanges 74 and 76. Alubrication fitting 84 may be provided on the flange or plate 76 inorder to lubricate the relatively movable surfaces defining the swivelconnection between the tubular guide 70 and the tubular guide 62.

With this construction, the cable 26 is fed downwardly by the feed chute30 with the cable being laid smoothly in a slit 86 formed in the earthssurface 28 which slit is formed to a width only sufficient to enablethan the minimum radius that a particular cable can follow withoutdamage to the cable.

Also attached to the housing 30 is a transversely extending plate orwing 88 which is substantially perpendicular to the trailing end 40 ofthe housing 30 with the forward edges of the plate 88 converginginwardly at 90 and extending between the side walls 34 of the housing 30with the forward terminal end of the plate designated by numeral 92being sufficiently narrow to pivot or swing between the side walls 34and provided with an enlargement that is apertured for receiving a pivotbolt 94 thereby enabling the wing or plate 88 to pivot about thetransverse axis'defined by the pivot pin or bolt 94. Attached to theouter edges of the wing 86 are tubular guides 96 which receive wires 98from tubular guides 100 which extend between the side plates 34 andvertically upwardly through the top plate 36 with the guides thenextending along either side of the upward extension 60 of the housing 30with the upper terminal end portion of the guides being designated bynumeral 102. As illustrated, the guides cross at 104 interiorly of thehousing 30 and may be in the form of semirigid or tubular conduits,hoses or the like which are connected with and form continuations of thetubular guides 96 to provide passage for and guidance for the wires 98.To provide wear surfaces for the outer edges of the wing 86, generallyV-shaped edge members 106 are provided on the wing 86 rearwardly of thehousing 30 with the apex of the V-shaped wall members 106 being disposedoutwardly as illustrated in FIG. 2. With the wing 88 disposed above theoutlet end 68 of the tubular guide 62, the wires 98 will be verticallyspaced from the cable 26 and also horizontally spaced in relation toeach other and horizontally spaced from the vertical slit 86 with thewing 88 and the reinforced edge 106 thereof which defines substantiallya cutting edge forming a narrow horizontal slit 108 in communicationwith the vertical slit 86 thereby laying the wires 98 at the same timethat the cable 26 is laid. While the wing 86 is capable of some movementin a vertical direction, the scope of pivotal movement is limited sothat a predetermined orientation of the wires 98 may be provided. Thewires 98 are normally bare and serve as ground wires to protect thecable or underground pipe which is required for certain installations.

This arrangement enables both the cable, such as a coaxial cableemployed in communications systems and ground wires to be placedunderground in a desired or required vertical and horizontalrelationship with an appropriate spacing therebetween by the single passof the cable laying plow and feed chute thereby eliminating thenecessity of first laying the cable and then subsequently laying theground wires which, in effect, requires two operations. in actualpractice, the passage of the plow and chute through the ground compactsthe soil and also effectively moves rocks or stones away from the cableor pipe to protect it from abrasion and impact after installation. Asthe ground compaction is released after passage of the plow and feedchute, a uniform radial support is given to the installed cable andwires and they will be maintained in the desired relationship to eachother and will not be subjected to uneven pressures and abrasions causedby the backfilling of dug trenches.

The feed chute is maintained with a minimum horizontal dimension ascompared with the cable diameter which can be fed down through thetubular guide with the transverse dimension of the feed chute generallyapproximating the transverse dimension of the rear of the plow so thatit will effectively follow the plow and effectively feed the cable andwires into position with a minimum towing force requirement.

For the purposes of this invention, the term cable, conduit, pipe or thelike encompasses single or multiple elongated members having sufficientflexibility to enable them to assume the radius of curvature defined bythe chute.

Also, it is pointed out that while the wing 88 and its associatedstructure is disclosed in use with the cable chute, it is within thepurview of this invention to use the chute without the wing and to usethe wing without the chute. This enables laying only the cable,simultaneous laying of the cable and ground wires or laying of theground wires only when it is desired to install ground wires where thecable or conduit has previously been installed or where it is onlynecessary to install ground wires. In the event that only a ground wireor wires are to be installed, the wing and associated structure may beconnected with the feed chute 30 which will not be used as a chute orconnected directly to the plow in any suitable manner so that the groundwires will be disposed in a desired location below the ground surface.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A feed chute for an underground cable laying plow comprising avertically disposed hollow housing defined by generally parallel sidesurfaces, a tubular guide extending vertically and curving downwardlyand rearwardly to an exit point at the rear lower end of the housing,means on the housing adapted to connect it to the trailing edge of anunderground cable laying plow, and an upwardly extending curved tubularguide attached to the housing and curved in a manner to receive a cablefor guiding the cable downwardly with it exiting from the feed chute atthe bottom rear corner thereof, and a wing in the form of a plateattached to the rear portion of the housing, said wing including sideedge portions which diverge outwardly and rearwardly, tubular guidesalong the side edges of the wing, said housing including tubular guidemembers communicating with the forward edges of the tubular guidemembers on the edges of the wing and extending upwardly from the housingfor receiving wires with the wires exit ing from the rear edges of thewing, said wing being disposed vertically above the exit for the cableguide and the side edges and tubular guide members on the wing beingspace horizontally from the vertical plane of the exit for the cableguide thereby positioning the cable and wires in vertical and'horizontalspaced relation to each other.

2. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said wing includes bladedefining edge members connected with the side edges thereof, said bladedefining edge members being in the form of V-shaped members having theapex thereof facing outwardly.

3. A feed chute for an underground cable laying plow comprising avertically disposed hollow housing de-' fined by generally parallel sidesurfaces, a tubular guide extending vertically and curving downwardlyand rearwardly to an exit point at the rear lower end of the housing,means on the housing adapted to connect it to the trailing edge of anunderground cable laying plow, and an upwardly extending curved tubularguide attached to the housing and curved in a manner to receive a cablefor guiding the cable downwardly with it exiting from the feed chute atthe bottom rear comer thereof, said tubular guide for the cableextending above the housing and the tubular guide for the cable in thehousing being interconnected by swivel means to enable the portion ofthe cable guide above the housing to swivel about substantially avertical axis, the upper end of the upper tubular guide for the cableincluding a funnel-shaped entrance capable of swinging to a desiredangular position about the vertical axis for receiving a cable fromvarious positions, and a wing in the form of a plate attached to therear portion of the housing, said wing including side edge portionswhich diverge outwardly and rearwardly, tubular guides along the sideedges of the wing, said housing including tubular guide memberscommunicating with the forward edges of the tubular guide members on theedges of the wing and extending upwardly from the housing for receivingwires with the wires exiting from the rear edges of the wing, said wingbeing disposed vertically above the exit for the cable guide and theside edges and tubular guide members on the wing being spacedhorizontally from the vertical plane of the exit for the cable guidethereby positioning the cable and wires in vertical and horizontalspaced relation to each other.

4. In combination with a towed plow of the type capable of laying a pipeor cable below ground surface without digging a trench, a chute attachedbehind the plow for guiding a pipe or cable downwardly from above groundto the bottom of the vertical slit formed by the plow, said chuteincluding a substantially vertically disposed tubular guide having abottom portion curving rearwardly in a smooth radius and the top curvingin a smooth radius to receive a pipe or cable and guiding it downwardlyto exit, the radius of curvature of the guide being greater than theradius that the pipe or cable can be bent without damage, said feedchute including horizontally disposed wing means to form one horizontalslit above the bottom of and laterally of the vertical slit, said wingmeans including guide means for guiding at least one wire into thehorizontal slit without digging a trench.

5. The structure as defined in claim 4 wherein said tubular guideincludes an upper section and a lower section, and swivel meansinterconnecting the upper section and lower section to enable the uppersection to swing about substantially a vertical axis so that pipes orcables may be received from various angular orientations.

6. The structure as defined in claim 4 wherein said wing means is in theform of a plate, a transversely extending pivot member connecting theforward edge of the plate to said chute above the bottom end of saidtubular guide, said plate including rearwardly diverging side edgesextending laterally from both surfaces of the chute, said guide meansincluding tubular passages generally paralleling the side edges of theplate for guiding two wires into the horizontal slit with the wiresbeing above and laterally of the cable laid in the bottom of thevertical slit, said plate also including blade defining edge portionsforming the diverging side edges of the plate to facilitate formation ofthe horizontal slit with the horizontal slit extending to both sides ofthe vertical slit defined by the chute.

7. An apparatus for laying a ground wire or wires at a desired locationunderground comprising a wing generally in the form of a plate disposedgenerally in a horizontal plane and adapted to be towed in trailingrelation to an underground cable laying type plow, and tubular guidemeans for ground wires on said plate, said tubular guide means includingcurved extensions projecting to a point above ground level to receve theground wires, said plate including rearwardly diverging side edges, saidtubular guide means including an open ended tubular member along eachside edge of the plate, and blade defining edge members disposedoutwardly of the tubular members for forming a horizontal undergroundslit for receiving the wires as they exit the plate for swingingmovement about a substantially horizontal axis extending transversely ofthe vertical slit formed by the cable laying plow.

1. A feed chute for an underground cable laying plow comprising avertically disposed hollow housing defined by generally parallel sidesurfaces, a tubular guide extending vertically and curving downwardlyand rearwardly to an exit point at the rear lower end of the housing,means on the housing adapted to connect it to the trailing edge of anunderground cable laying plow, and an upwardly extending curved tubularguide attached to the housing and curved in a manner to receive a cablefor guiding the cable downwardly with it exiting from the feed chute atthe bottom rear corner thereof, and a wing in the form of a plateattached to the rear portion of the housing, said wing including sideedge portions which diverge outwardly and rearwardly, tubular guidesalong the side edges of the wing, said housing including tubular guidemembers communicating with the forward edges of the tubular guidemembers on the edges of the wing and extending upwardly from the housingfor receiving wires with the wires exiting from the rear edges of thewing, said wing being disposed vertically above the exit for the cableguide and the side edges and tubular guide members on the wing beingspace horizontally from the vertical plane of the exit for the cableguide thereby positioning the cable and wires in vertical and horizontalspaced relation to each other.
 2. The structure as defined in claim 1wherein said wing includes blade defining edge members connected withthe side edges thereof, said blade defining edge members being in theform of V-shaped members having the apex thereof facing outwardly.
 3. Afeed chute for an underground cable laying plow comprising a verticallydisposed hollow housing defined by generally parallel side surfaces, atubular guide extending vertically and curving downwardly and rearwardlyto an exit point at the rear lower end of the housing, means on thehousing adapted to connect it to the trailing edge of an undergroundcable laying plow, and an upwardly extending curved tubular guideattached to the housing and curved in a manner to receive a cable forguiding the cable downwardly with it exiting from the feed chute at thebottom rear corner thereof, said tubular guide for the cable extendingabove the housing and the tubular guide for the cable in the housingbeing interconnected by swivel means to enable the portion of the cableguide above the housing to swivel about substantially a vertical axis,the upper end of the upper tubular guide for the cable including afunnel-shaped entrance capable of swinging to a desired angular positionabout the vertical axis for receiving a cable from various positions,and a wing in the form of a plate attached to the rear portion of thehousing, said wing including side edge portions which diverge outwardlyand rearwardly, tubular guides along the side edges of the wing, saidhousing including tubular guide members communicating with the forwardedges of the tubular guide members on the edges of the wing andextending upwardly from the housing for receiving wires with the wiresexiting from the rear edges of the wing, said wing being disposedvertically above the exit for the cable guide and the side edges andtubular guide members On the wing being spaced horizontally from thevertical plane of the exit for the cable guide thereby positioning thecable and wires in vertical and horizontal spaced relation to eachother.
 4. In combination with a towed plow of the type capable of layinga pipe or cable below ground surface without digging a trench, a chuteattached behind the plow for guiding a pipe or cable downwardly fromabove ground to the bottom of the vertical slit formed by the plow, saidchute including a substantially vertically disposed tubular guide havinga bottom portion curving rearwardly in a smooth radius and the topcurving in a smooth radius to receive a pipe or cable and guiding itdownwardly to exit, the radius of curvature of the guide being greaterthan the radius that the pipe or cable can be bent without damage, saidfeed chute including horizontally disposed wing means to form onehorizontal slit above the bottom of and laterally of the vertical slit,said wing means including guide means for guiding at least one wire intothe horizontal slit without digging a trench.
 5. The structure asdefined in claim 4 wherein said tubular guide includes an upper sectionand a lower section, and swivel means interconnecting the upper sectionand lower section to enable the upper section to swing aboutsubstantially a vertical axis so that pipes or cables may be receivedfrom various angular orientations.
 6. The structure as defined in claim4 wherein said wing means is in the form of a plate, a transverselyextending pivot member connecting the forward edge of the plate to saidchute above the bottom end of said tubular guide, said plate includingrearwardly diverging side edges extending laterally from both surfacesof the chute, said guide means including tubular passages generallyparalleling the side edges of the plate for guiding two wires into thehorizontal slit with the wires being above and laterally of the cablelaid in the bottom of the vertical slit, said plate also including bladedefining edge portions forming the diverging side edges of the plate tofacilitate formation of the horizontal slit with the horizontal slitextending to both sides of the vertical slit defined by the chute.
 7. Anapparatus for laying a ground wire or wires at a desired locationunderground comprising a wing generally in the form of a plate disposedgenerally in a horizontal plane and adapted to be towed in trailingrelation to an underground cable laying type plow, and tubular guidemeans for ground wires on said plate, said tubular guide means includingcurved extensions projecting to a point above ground level to receivethe ground wires, said plate including rearwardly diverging side edges,said tubular guide means including an open ended tubular member alongeach side edge of the plate, and blade defining edge members disposedoutwardly of the tubular members for forming a horizontal undergroundslit for receiving the wires as they exit from the rear end of thetubular members.
 8. The structure as defined in claim 7 wherein saidblade defining edge members on the plate include a generally pointedmember having rearwardly diverging sharp edges rigid with the tubularmembers, and means at the forward end of said plate for pivotallymounting the plate for swinging movement about a substantiallyhorizontal axis extending transversely of the vertical slit formed bythe cable laying plow.